Recently in Space Policy Category

At the First Canadian Aerospace Summit hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada in Ottawa yesterday a distinguished group of leaders was brought together for the Canadian Aerospace Leaders Panel moderated by Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Dr. Steve MacLean. The theme of the panel was "Does Canada need an aerospace industrial base?" The message from industry leaders was clear, for industry to be successful the government must play an important role, especially when it comes to helping industry with foreign markets. There are opportunities but there is also risk as the domestic market is small and can't sustain the industry on its own.

The following article first appeared in the first issue of our new magazine Space Quarterly on September 1, 2011. With the opening today of the First Canadian Aerospace Summit in Ottawa we thought it appropriate to publish this article online. The next issue of Space Quarterly will be published December 1. Subscribe to the digital or print edition for more in-depth coverage of the Canadian space systems sector.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Steve MacLean is in China to for exploratory meetings on future possible cooperation between the countries. Last week he visited the China National Space Administration (CNSA) where he met with CNSA Administrator Chen Qiufa. He also met Zheng Guoguang, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration. After his visit to China MacLean will visit Russia to participate in the commemorative ceremony scheduled for April 12th on the 50th anniversary of humanities first flight into space by Russia's Yuri Gagarin. The visit to China comes at a time when US-China space relations are in flux as some members of congress, mostly republicans, oppose cooperation with China. According to Wade Huntley, a Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School there is an opportunity for Canada to be a facilitator between US-China space relations.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) this week released an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for a Cluster Pilot as part of their efforts to increase capacity building in their space science and technology segment. Funding for the AO is estimated at $2.25 million over three years for up to five cluster projects selected with a maximum of $450,000 per project.

The Harper Government released its 2011 budget today which all three opposition parties said they would not support in its current form leading to speculation the government will fall and trigger an election for either May 2nd or May 9th. However one key item in the budget, should it go forward, is a comprehensive review of aerospace policy and programs.

Today is budget day and we'll be covering it as the day progresses. What does it mean for the Canadian space sector? Will the Canadian Space Agency budget increase or decrease? What new programs if any will be started? Does the Department of National Defence get an increase? What about research & development. Follow SpaceRef Canada on Twitter at @CanadaInSpace and on this live blog page as the day unfolds. Email us your questions at budget2011@spaceref.com.

The message was clear at the Next Breakthrough Space Technologies for Canada industry event last Friday in Toronto, Ottawa we have a problem, and you're it. If ever there was an industry that feels neglected it's the commercial space industry.

The last Canadian space policy released by the Department of National Defence (DND) was in 1998 and the DND is set to release an updated though not substantially changed policy early in the new year, this according to Colonel André Dupuis, Director of the DND's Directorate of Space Development known as D Space D.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement wishes RADARSAT 1 a happy 15th birthday while opposition MP's start thinking that it might be time to reassess Canadian space policy and Macdonald Dettwiler (MDA) shows the way forward by meeting current RADARSAT milestones and selling off their entire property data unit (even though they sorta said they kinda wouldn't). All that and more, this week in space for Canada.

The Hill Times talks about adjusting to space policy changes in the US after Canadian space stimulus money runs out and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) allows Toronto based Engineering Services Inc. (ESI) to keep the intellectual property developed from CSA contracts but the Vancouver based Mohammad Institute for Space Science out does everyone by announcing a Moon based laboratory scheduled for deployment by 2015. All that and more, this week in space for Canada.